Gandara's felony may wipe out pension

Former Sweetwater superintendent barely vested to begin with

State pension officials in 2012 asked for records showing that Gandara was actually sick when he took sick leave, documentation that didn’t exist and was never provided, according to the district’s outside legal counsel, Dan Shinoff.

District Attorney's investigators say former Sweetwater schools Superintendent Jesus Gandara had a contractor rent him this Albus Dumbledore costume for Halloween from Buffalo Breath Costume Co. in San Diego.

District Attorney's investigators say former Sweetwater schools Superintendent Jesus Gandara had a contractor rent him this Albus Dumbledore costume for Halloween from Buffalo Breath Costume Co. in San Diego.

Gandara’s pension remained unchanged.

“In February 2013, CalSTRS determined that Mr. Gandara’s accrued sick leave and vacation were allowable for the purposes of determining vesting,” Duran said.

Gandara’s conviction carries a potential maximum sentence of three years in state prison but it’s unlikely he will do time. Superior Court Judge Ana Espana has said she would be willing to consider alternatives sentences, such as probation and community service.

Gandara’s criminal defense attorney, Paul Pfingst, did not respond to requests for comment for this story, and attempts to reach Gandara by phone and email were unsuccessful this week.

Four people in the 868,000-member state teachers pension system have lost benefits under the new felony rules. As with Gandara, the crimes and retirements took place before the new state law took effect, and the felony convictions took place after.

Before coming to Sweetwater, Gandara was superintendent at the Mercedes Independent School District in Texas from 1997 to 2004. It’s not clear what retirement benefits he might have from that time, because Texas law holds public pension details confidential.